[ cheers and applause ] ♪ this morning on "early today," change in strategy. libya gets hit with more coalition strikes as the operation enters a new stage. asleep at the wheel, what's happened to an air traffic controller who nodded off on the job as planes landed? and disorder in the court, a woman flips out during a hearing in nevada. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with a military handover.

secretary of state hillary clinton says the united states is taking the next step in military operations against libya, by handing over control of the no-fly zone to nato. yesterday, french fighter jets struck a military base about 155 miles south of the libyan coastline, as well as a libyan combat plane that had just landed outside the strategic city of misrata. more explosions could be heard before dawn this morning in the capital city of tripoli. for now we'll check out more details on how much control is being transferred to nato. we go to tracie potts in washington. >> make no mistake, the u.s. is still very involved in the operation. the u.s., britain and france will still be conducting the toughest parts of this operation but it does mean the u.s. is now not acting alone. the nato secretary-general has now announced they will be taking over the operational phase. they've made the political decision as nato says, they'll spend the weekend working oumt

the details, these more than 20 western nations, plus a couple of arab countries also that have signed on to enforce the no-fly zone over libya, and nato secretary-general was very clear about that, they will be enforcing the no-fly zone and the arms embargo and nothing else. he says they should be ready to take this over in about two or three days. secretary of state hillary clinton making the announcement here for the u.s., saying we can now begin to reduce our participation in this operation. the u.s. has flown about 70% of those missions so far, that should begin to go down. in fact, she says there are already fewer american planes in the air over libya. lynn? >> tracie, thanks so much. now to japan, where the government says an apparent leak has been detected at the crippled fukushima reactor that may have contaminated water that injured three workers this week. the radiation in the waters that found to be 10,000 times above normal levels. meanwhile a japanese cabinet official says people living

within the 18-mile zone where residents have been told to just stay indoors should now consider a voluntary evacuation. in tokyo, japanese officials say tests performed on the tap water now show acceptable levels of radioactive iodine for infants. however, some parents aren't taking any chances. supplies of bottled water are running low. two weeks after japan's earthquake and tsunami the official death toll from the disasters has soared past 10,000. the federal aviation administration says it has suspended an air traffic control supervisor after he fell asleep on duty, forcing two passenger planes to land at reagan international airport without any assistance. nbc's kristendahlgren has more

on a story that raised a lot of questions about who is minding the runways. >> reporter: final approach to reagan international airport. the american airlines flight from miami gets no response. >> the pilot gets over the loud speaker and says, sorry, folks, we can't land right now. >> reporter: even a nearby operations center can't raise reagan's tower. >> tried to call on landline and tried to call on the commercial line and there's no answer. >> reporter: the american flight and then the united plane from chicago both land safely, pilots using radios to broadcast their positions. >> as a former airline pilot, i'm outraged at what happened there. we have an investigation ongoing and we will get to the bottom of this. >> reporter: the controller was suspended. he now admits he fell asleep after four consecutive night shifts. >> at an airport like reagan, it is really imperative to have two air traffic controllers on duty. >> reporter: reagan national is just miles to the white house, a stone's throw from the pentagon and capital, the main airport for members of congress. >> we need to change procedures to make sure it never happens again. >> reporter: transportation secretary ray lahood ordered a second controller on reagan's night shift and has directed the faa to study stopping levels at

airports around the country as passengers now contemplate -- >> that just put a little more extra fear in me. >> reporter: -- their own safety in the skies. kristin dahlgren, nbc news, washington. now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. in nevada, a courtroom camera captured a vegas woman lashing out at court officers after a judge remanded her into custody for evaluation by a mental health professional. the defendant became so combative after the judge told her the process could take up to two weeks. the woman is currently jailed on child endangerment and kidnapping charges. in california a ruptured storm drain transformed a street into a raging river. the muddy water forced the evacuation of a mobile home park and floolded nearby businesses and cars. officials were able to get the water under control but not before it caused major damage to some structures. and in iowa, a newborn baby

has already mastered the art of making a big different. look at her. katelyn was born weighing a whooping 13 pounds 4 ounces. but her size wasn't a huge surprise to her parents. before giving birth, doctors informed her mom she would be at least 11 pounds and the decision was made to deliver her by c-section and as you can imagine the decision was welcomed by mom there. now for a look at your national and regional weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. good morning, bill. we're all being big babies about the weather. >> did you hear what katelyn's first meal was, burger, fries. this latest storm hit hard around sacramento, over an inch of rain in san francisco, san jose a ton of rain. in the mountains additional snow. the storm stretched out a bit, not quite as intense and strong right where it was yesterday. rain showers to washington state and down here into southern

california. truly only in arizona and nevada we're not feeling the effects as badly. even in nevada we've got showers. around reno just to the south, once you cross the border, snow on interstate 80, showers between sacramento and san francisco and continuing with the showers ft. bragg north wards up the coast. in the mountains, adding another 6 to 12 inches today from the areas of rain and snow moving onshore. so today's forecast we're going to keep it very unsettled. you need the umbrella everywhere north of l.a. it's sunny in one mbrella handy. you'll need it not just today but for the weekend. lynn, the weekend forecast as i've been talking about, next storm is right in line. we'll talk about it.

>> bill, thank you. the postal service is the bearer of bad news. a first for the central bank. and omg. check out the latest edition to the dictionary. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, chris brown breaks his silence about his morning show meltdown. coming up, another number one seed is knocked out of the ncaa tournament and an overtime thriller in the sweet 16, as well. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here are some of your top headlines this morning. after a week-long uprising, the syrian government says it will consider sweeping political reforms to appease protesters, including lifting a state of emergency which has been in place for nearly 50 years. the promises were immediately rejected by pro-democracy protesters who are calling for mass demonstrations today.

in myanmar government officials say at least 70 people are dead and dozens more injured after a strong earthquake in the northeastern part of the country last night. the 6.8 magnitude quake shook buildings in neighboring thailand, where one woman was killed when a wall of her house collapsed. and screen legend elizabeth taylor who died wednesday of congestive heart failure has been laid to rest at a los angeles area cemetery. yesterday's private service began 15 minutes behind schedule because the hollywood icon wanted to, literally, be late to her own funeral. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,170 after climbing 84 points on thursday. the s&p added 12 points. the nasdaq was up 38. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei gained 101 points while in hong kong, the hang seng rose 243. investors appear to be channeling their inner optimists

this week. they shook off a long list of potential pitfalls yesterday from mideast violence and oil supply worries to japan's nuclear crisis and deepening debt in europe. instead, traders focused on upbeat earnings from the likes of software company red hat, which shot up 18%, and better than expected results from conagri foods. chip stocks got a boost from micron technologies sending its shares and fellow chipmaker nvidia 8% higher. on the jobs front, the government reported fewer folks applied for unemployment, the fourth week in a row. after the bell, a 78% jump in oracle's net income sent its shares sharply higher in late trade. but it wasn't all good news. best buy slipped 5% despite earnings that beat the street, thanks in part to weak same-store sales here in the u.s. also after the bell, blackberrymaker research in motion tumbled in extended trade after failing to impress

investors with its current forecast. the u.s. postal service delivered a grim message thursday. it's doing away with some 7,500 jobs this year and shutting down seven district offices. elsewhere, for the first time ever, federal reserve chief ben bernanke will now hold a news conference after each of the central bank's quarterly interest rate meetings. and finally, oh, my god, it's official. the oxford english dictionary now includes the initialisms omg and lol. it's just a matter of time, right? what's more interesting, though, is that omg first appeared in a personal letter in 1917 and lol dates back to 1960, although it appeared as little old lady instead of laugh out loud. sounds appropriate. coming up, in the quest for the final four, which teams have been sent packing? and arizona's derek williams dazzled duke, but was it enough for a knockout? your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead.

as we head towards the weekend forecast, more rain and chilly temperatures. your weekend forecast is coming right up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, this year's march madness is definitely living up

to its name. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good friday morning. if your bracket wasn't already in shambles, it is now. arizona shocked the number one seed duke to advance to the elite eight. wildcats did their damage in the second half. seems like everything they threw up went in. they could do no wrong on a 19-2 run. derek williams scored a career high 32. you'll see him next in the nba. arizona sent the defending champs packing with a stunning 93-77 victory. now to new orleans, byu and florida. leading scorer in the nation, jim fredette missed a shot but he heated up when he needed it most. he had 32. it remained tied and on to overtime. that's when florida pulled away. gators knocked down a pair of threes and the cougars never recovered. florida advanced with an 83-74 overtime win. walker struggled early

against san diego and then went on a scoring spree. he finished with 36. it remained close until the end. a costly turnover, and the huskies went the other way. jeremy lam with the dagger. uconn upset san diego state 74-67. they'll play arizona. butler had their way with wisconsin. the number eight seed looked like the team that went to the title game last year. like arizona, they pulled away early in the second. at one point they were up by 20. went on to win it, 64-54. next up, florida. finally, the north carolina tar heels gave their fans something to cheer about and they didn't even play. the tar heels turned a lay-up drill into a dunk contest yesterday. player after player went through the line and showed off their best jams. even coach roy williams enjoyed the show. it wasn't just the big guys throwing down. patrick grouch got a little help from his friends. the 5'11" point guard lifted to the rim and that is team work. never has a lay-up drill been so much fun to watch. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. well, did you get an invite

well, did you get an invite to the royal wedding? coming up, we'll tell you how you can get involved. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, one student's computer smarts scores him a bit of revenge on an alleged laptop thief. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. here's a look at the forecast as we head through the beginning of the weekend. today, rain, not as bad around sacramento and san francisco but showers on and off. chance of thunderstorms salt lake city to boise, a little unusual and showers up the coastline. l.a. just some sprinkles around but for the most part you'll remain cloudy and 63. now saturday more moisture lingering in this area, a new storm system coming in with heavier rain and further south down the coast, it's really only arizona and portions of nevada that will stay dry. toward the higher elevations you'll deal with more heavy snow. watching us on kmtr 16, eugene, oregon, feast your eyes on excessive obsession, a jordan schnitzer museum of art, your pacific event of the day. now here's a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. it appears movie goers will be pulling for the underdog at the

box office this weekend. based on a popular children's book series "diary of a wimpy kid, roderick rules" is expected to open on top in the low $20 million range. the action fantasy "sucker punch" about an institutionalized teenager who plans to escape in an alternative reality is generating high interest in males under 25. it's expected to debut with just over $20 million. in other news, chris brown has apologized for his destructive tantrum following an appearance on gma earlier this week. brown trashed hits dressing room and broke a window after being asked questions about his 2009 assault of former girlfriend rihanna. the official recording of next month's nuptials between prince william and kate middleton will be available for download just hours after the end of the service.

it never ends, does it? a computer dish is best served on the internet. this comes to us from whgh 7 news in boston. after mark's laptop was stolen, he began to investigate by checking a website he used to back up his files. with a click of the mouse, mark downloaded the web browsing history where he found a video of the thief dancing. mark posted the video on youtube which led to the return of his computer and request from the culprit to take the video down. he messed with the wrong guy. >> yeah, but he can dance. >> really, is that good dancing? >> i'm not sure. you're asking the wrong person. >> i love he was so humiliated. oh, man, it's cool, here's your computer, take it off youtube. my girlfriend goes on that. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

an ordinary construction job in chile became anything but when workers stumbled on a head scratching find. while digging, workers saw what looked like a massive tooth deep below the job site. it turns out a complete mastadon skull as many as 2 million years old had been found. the nearly complete fossil includes a jaw bone, teeth and tusks. in this competitive job market, it's never too early to start preparing for their career, especially in china where a theme park is helping kids answer the question, what do you want to be when you grow up? the mini city lets them try their hand at the most popular among kids like a firefighter or policeman, even airline pilot.

ambitious parents say a head start is needed. all right, everyone, get out your brackets. this next basketball is true march madness. volunteer firefighters in nebraska played a game of donkey on a donkey. kind of poetic, right? they rode around on the animals trying to score points from the saddle, thankfully with helmets on. the game raised money to buy new uniforms for the town's paramedics. you've got to love that. bill, of course i'm not the most, you know, proficient in sports, but this i can definitely get behind. >> i would assume that you would be good at this. >> i actually, play ied basketball. you give me a bad rap. i played baseball. i just have not followed it on in my career. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. today is national medal of honor day. in celebration of the military's highest decoration and those who receive it, admiral mike mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff will deliver a ceremony

marking the 150th anniversary of the congressional award. in new york, broadway will dim its lights in tribute to elizabeth taylor. the actress died early wednesday of congestive heart failure at the age of 79. as elton john mourns the loss of his long time friend, elizabeth taylor, he'll be celebrating a birthday. today the legendary musician turns 64. all day long, you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch brian williams with nbc "nightly news." and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. in a "today" exclusive, the model suing american apparel's ceo for sexual harassment speaks out and addresses claims that she made advances toward him. and meet a woman who was kidnapped as child and reunited with her family 37 years later. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one.

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